Stakeholders in the nation’s maritime industry has applauded the Lagos State Governor, Akinwumi Ambode over sealing of bonded terminals sited in the residential area of Ajegunle in Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state describing it as a step in the right.
Governor Ambode had last week ordered the immediate shutting down of Climax Bonded Terminal and others in Ajegunle, saying that their operation was not only illegal but also causing untold hardship to residents in the area.
Governor Ambode, who was saddened by the situation in the area shortly after an on-the-spot assessment, directed that the terminal and other adjoining areas be closed, while the trucks parked around the terminal be evacuated within the next 24 hours.
Reacting to the development, the Lagos State Vice Chairman, Dry Cargo section of the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Alhaji Abdullahi Inuwa Mohammed hailed the action of the governor stating that the action was long expected especially as the area in question was designated as a residential area.
He pointed out that the health hazard the presence of the bonded terminal with its attendant obstruction of the roads by trucks littering the whole area called for concern hence the action of the governor was necessary to safeguard the residents of the area.
“He is trying to safeguard his citizens because you cannot come and build tank farms along the residential areas and even these tank farms that are there, they don’t have holding bays for their trucks and at the same time, look at the Ajegunle axis, the bonded terminals are there, tank farms are very close there and then trucks have now diverted to the streets and so many businesses have already collapsed.
“Environmental challenge is also there because those drivers that their trucks are packed there, defecate and bath around that place, if care is not taken, an epidemic may broke out. So, if the governor sends them parking from that area, it is a good development. As a governor, that is what he can do, he cannot allow such things to be happening, because if something happens, eventually, somebody is sick, you cannot take him fast to the hospital. Assuming there is a fire incident, who will come to their rescue? It means that entire community will just be wiped out. So, it is a step in the right direction and I support him for that”, he said.
Also speaking, a chieftain of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Mr. Ojo Peter Akintoye knocked the governor for carrying out the action now which according to him came late even as he opined that the bonded terminals had been existing in that location for more than ten years without approval describing it as negligence on the part of the government.
“Why should you say that you are not aware that the terminals that have been there for over ten years were located there? Whose fault is it, the Local government or that of the state or who?”
“However, having said that, we thank him for that action, if he had not come to the aid of the people leaving there, it would have been disastrous. The area is a residential area, sometimes if I go there, I wonder how the people leaving in that area cope, you are going in problem, you are coming out, problem and the little infrastructure the state government is putting in place, which is why they came up with the action this time around, is deteriorating. We still appreciate the governor that at the end of the day, probably, succor has come the way of the residents of the area”.
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